Surgeon General Jerome Adams says 'most of the country' will not be able to open by May 1

Nicholas WuUSA TODAY

Friday

Apr 10, 2020 at 12:35 PM

Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Friday "most of the country" will not be able to reopen by May 1, despite suggestions from some Trump administration officials that next month may be a time to revisit strict social distancing guidelines.

"Once we get past this thirty days, some places around the country can think about reopening," Adams said on Fox News, referring to the 30-day period for the White House social distancing guidelines.

Asked about Dr. Anthony Fauci's comments about maintaining social distancing restrictions, Adams said, "now is the time to continue to lean into this (social distancing)."

"There are places around the country that have seen consistently low levels, and as we ramp up testing and can feel more confident that these places actually can do surveillance, and can do public health follow-up, some places will be able to think about opening on May 1," he said. "Most of the country will not, to be honest with you, but some will."

"That's how we'll reopen the country. Place by place, bit by bit, based on the data," he said.

Adams expressed concern about the effects of social distancing on other health issues.

"Yes, social distancing is good to stop the spread of COVID, but we know that isolation is bad for almost every other disease you can name out there — depression, domestic violence, heart disease, substance abuse — all these things are worse," Adams said.

WATCH:@JeromeAdamsMD discusses where the US stands in fighting the coronavirus as it is learned the pandemic is killing more people on average per day than cancer or heart disease#nine2noonpic.twitter.com/B68r3BXqG8

— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom)April 10, 2020

Adams' comments come as some Trump administration officials have said parts of the country could reopen by May. Attorney General William Barr called the restrictions "draconian" in a Wednesday Fox News interview and suggested they should be reevaluated next month, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday on CNBC parts of the economy could reopen in May if Trump was satisfied with medical conditions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a Thursday interview with Politico that Trump might "make matters worse" if he reopens the country too soon.

Asked in Thursday's coronavirus press briefing what criteria might be used to reopen the government and the country, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters, "it really varies differently. So I don't think there's one medical criteria." He noted that reopening a huge metropolitan area like New York City would be different from that of a town in the Midwest or in the mountain regions.

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